Identification of kaempferol as an OSX upregulator by network pharmacology-based analysis of qianggu Capsule for osteoporosis

The Role of Traditional Chinese Medicines in the Treatment of Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis (OP) represents a substantial public health issue and is associated with increasing rates of morbidity and mortality. It is characterized by reduced bone mineral density, deterioration of bone tissue quality, disruption of the microarchitecture of bones, and compromised bone strength. These changes may be attributed to the following factors: intercellular communication between osteoblasts and osteoclasts; imbalanced bone remodeling; imbalances between osteogenesis and adipogenesis; imbalances in hormonal regulation; angiogenesis; chronic inflammation; oxidative stress; and intestinal microbiota imbalances. Treating a single aspect of the disease is insufficient to address its multifaceted nature. In recent decades, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has shown great potential in the treatment of OP, and the therapeutic effects of Chinese patent drugs and Chinese medicinal herbs have been scientifically proven. TCMs, which contain multiple components, can target the diverse pathogeneses of OP through a multitargeted approach. Herbs such as XLGB, JTG, GSB, Yinyanghuo, Gusuibu, Buguzhi, and Nvzhenzi are among the TCMs that can be used to treat OP and have demonstrated promising effects in this context. They exert their therapeutic effects by targeting various pathways involved in bone metabolism. These TCMs balance the activity of osteoblasts (bone-forming cells) and osteoclasts (bone-resorbing cells), and they exhibit anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti-oxidative, and estrogen-like functions. These multifaceted mechanisms underlie the efficacy of these herbs in the management and treatment of OP. Herein, we examine the efficacy of various Chinese herbs and Chinese patent drugs in treating OP by reviewing previous clinical trials and basic experiments, and we examine the potential mechanism of these therapies to provide evidence regarding the use of TCM for treating OP.

Traditional Chinese medicine in osteoporosis: from pathogenesis to potential activity

Osteoporosis characterized by decreased bone density and mass, is a systemic bone disease with the destruction of microstructure and increase in fragility. Osteoporosis is attributed to multiple causes, including aging, inflammation, diabetes mellitus, and other factors induced by the adverse effects of medications. Without treatment, osteoporosis will further progress and bring great trouble to human life. Due to the various causes, the treatment of osteoporosis is mainly aimed at improving bone metabolism, inhibiting bone resorption, and promoting bone formation. Although the currently approved drugs can reduce the risk of fragility fractures in individuals, a single drug has limitations in terms of safety and effectiveness. By contrast, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), a characteristic discipline in China, including syndrome differentiation, Chinese medicine prescription, and active ingredients, shows unique advantages in the treatment of osteoporosis and has received attention all over the world. Therefore, this review summarized the pathogenic factors, pathogenesis, therapy limitations, and advantages of TCM, aiming at providing new ideas for the prevention and treatment of OP.

Network Pharmacology and Molecular Modeling Techniques in Unraveling the Underlying Mechanism of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium aganist Type 2 Diabetic Osteoporosis

Type 2 diabetic osteoporosis (T2DOP) is a common complication in diabetic patients that seriously affects their health and quality of life. The pathogenesis of T2DOP is complex, and there are no targeted governance means in modern medicine. Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (CRP) is a traditional Chinese medicine that has a long history and has been used in the treatment of osteoporosis diseases. However, the molecular mechanism for the CRP treatment of T2DOP is not clear. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the underlying mechanisms of CRP for the treatment of T2DOP by using network pharmacology and molecular modeling techniques. By retrieving multiple databases, we obtained 5 bioactive compounds and 63 common targets of bioactive compounds with T2DOP, and identified AKT 1, TP 53, JUN, BCL 2, MAPK 1, NFKB 1, and ESR 1 as the core targets of their PPI network. Enrichment analysis revealed that these targets were mainly enriched in the estrogen signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, and AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetics, which were mainly related to oxidative stress and hormonal regulation. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations have shown the excellent binding effect of the bioactive compounds of CRP and the core targets. These findings reveal that CRP may ameliorate T2DOP through multiple multicomponent and multitarget pathways.

Disulfidptosis-related Protein RPN1 may be a Novel Anti-osteoporosis Target of Kaempferol

BACKGROUND

Osteoporosis (OP) is an age-related skeletal disease. Kaempferol can regulate bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) osteogenesis to improve OP, but its mechanism related to disulfidptosis, a newly discovered cell death mechanism, remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE

The study aimed to investigate the biological function and immune mechanism of disulfidptosis- related ribophorin I (RPN1) in OP and to experimentally confirm that RPN1 is the target for the treatment of OP with kaempferol.

METHODS

Differential expression analysis was conducted on disulfide-related genes extracted from the GSE56815 and GSE7158 datasets. Four machine learning algorithms identified disease signature genes, with RPN1 identified as a significant risk factor for OP through the nomogram. Validation of RPN1 differential expression in OP patients was performed using the GSE56116 dataset. The impact of RPN1 on immune alterations and biological processes was explored. Predictive ceRNA regulatory networks associated with RPN1 were generated via miRanda, miRDB, and TargetScan databases. Molecular docking estimated the binding model between kaempferol and RPN1. The targeting mechanism of kaempferol on RPN1 was confirmed through pathological HE staining and immunohistochemistry in ovariectomized (OVX) rats.

RESULTS

RPN1 was abnormally overexpressed in the OP cohort, associated with TNF signaling, hematopoietic cell lineage, and NF-kappa B pathway. Immune infiltration analysis showed a positive correlation between RPN1 expression and CD8+ T cells and resting NK cells, while a negative correlation with CD4+ naive T cells, macrophage M1, T cell gamma delta, T cell follicular helper cells, activated mast cells, NK cells, and dendritic cells, was found. Four miRNAs and 17 lncRNAs associated with RPN1 were identified. Kaempferol exhibited high binding affinity (-7.2 kcal/mol) and good stability towards the RPN1. The experimental results verified that kaempferol could improve bone microstructure destruction and reverse the abnormally high expression of RPN1 in the femur of ovariectomized rats.

CONCLUSION

RPN1 may be a new diagnostic biomarker in patients with OP, and may serve as a new target for kaempferol to improve OP.

PTGR1 is involved in cell proliferation in thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum

Thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum (TOLF) is a heterotopic ossification of spinal ligaments, leading to serious myelopathy. TOLF underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Our iTRAQ analysis have identified ten inflammatory factors related to TOLF, including l. We found that PTGR1 expressions increased in TOLF by RT-PCR and western blot in this study. Both cell proliferation and differentiation are important for the process of bone formation. In our previous study, we demonstrated that TOLF primary cells grew faster than control cells. It was reported that knockdown of PTGR1 inhibited cell proliferation. We hypothesize that PTGR1 may participate in cell proliferation in TOLF. To test this hypothesis, TOLF primary cells were treated for 24h with PTGR1. We observed that PTGR1 increased cell proliferation. The effect of PTGR1 on cell proliferation related genes was examined in TOLF primary cells. Our results showed that PTGR1 was able to activate expressions of c-Myc and CyclinD1. Moreover, blocking JNK pathway by selective JNK inhibitor SP600125 eliminated the positive effect of PTGR1 on c-Myc expression, indicating that PTGR1 activated the expression of c-Myc via JNK pathway. Our new findings suggest that PTGR1 is involved in cell proliferation of TOLF.

Unraveling the potential mechanisms of the anti-osteoporotic effects of the Achyranthes bidentata-Dipsacus asper herb pair: a network pharmacology and experimental study

Background: Osteoporosis is a prevalent bone metabolism disease characterized by a reduction in bone density, leading to several complications that significantly affect patients' quality of life. The Achyranthes bidentata-Dipsacus asper (AB-DA) herb pair is commonly used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to treat osteoporosis. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic compounds and potential mechanisms of AB-DA using network pharmacology, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, and experimental verification. Methods: Identified compounds of AB-DA were collected from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP), Traditional Chinese Medicine Information Database (TCM-ID), TCM@Taiwan Database, BATMAN-TCM, and relevant literature. The main bioactive ingredients were screened based on the criteria of "OB (oral bioavailability) ≥ 30, DL (drug-likeness) ≥ 0.18." Potential targets were predicted using the PharmMapper and SwissTargetPrediction websites, while disease (osteoporosis)-related targets were obtained from the GeneCards, DisGeNET, and OMIM databases. The PPI network and KEGG/GO enrichment analysis were utilized for core targets and pathway screening in the STRING and Metascape databases, respectively. A drug-compound-target-pathway-disease network was constructed using Cytoscape software to display core regulatory mechanisms. Molecular docking and dynamics simulation techniques explored the binding reliability and stability between core compounds and targets. In vitro and in vivo validation experiments were utilized to explore the anti-osteoporosis efficiency and mechanism of sitogluside. Results: A total of 31 compounds with 83 potential targets for AB-DA against osteoporosis were obtained. The PPI analysis revealed several hub targets, including AKT1, CASP3, EGFR, IGF1, MAPK1, MAPK8, and MAPK14. GO/KEGG analysis indicated that the MAPK cascade (ERK/JNK/p38) is the main pathway involved in treating osteoporosis. The D-C-T-P-T network demonstrated therapeutic compounds that mainly consisted of iridoids, steroids, and flavonoids, such as sitogluside, loganic acid, and β-ecdysterone. Molecular docking and dynamics simulation analyses confirmed strong binding affinity and stability between core compounds and targets. Additionally, the validation experiments showed preliminary evidence of antiosteoporosis effects. Conclusion: This study identified iridoids, steroids, and flavonoids as the main therapeutic compounds of AB-DA in treating osteoporosis. The underlying mechanisms may involve targeting core MAPK cascade (ERK/JNK/p38) targets, such as MAPK1, MAPK8, and MAPK14. In vivo experiments preliminarily validated the anti-osteoporosis effect of sitogluside. Further in-depth experimental studies are required to validate the therapeutic value of AB-DA for treating osteoporosis in clinical practice.

Toosendanin inhibits osteoclast formation and alleviate postmenopausal osteoporosis by regulating the p38 signaling pathway

Disruption of the balance between osteoclasts and osteoblasts could lead to bone diseases including osteoporosis. It's well known that RANKL-RANK signaling plays a vital role in activating osteoclasts. Herein, we explored the therapeutic effects of toosendanin (TSN) in osteoporosis, showing that TSN attenuated RANKL-stimulated osteoclastogenesis and osteoclast-specific gene expression in vitro. Bioinformatics predicted that TSN could interfere p38 subunits and regulate the MAPK cascade, and we further verified and demonstrated that TSN significantly inhibited RANKL-induced p38 signaling through western blot. In ovariectomized mouse model, TSN effectively inhibited the formation of TRAP-positive osteoclasts and exhibited protective effect against bone loss. Altogether, these data indicate that TSN targeted p38 activation to inhibit osteoclastogenesis, suggesting the possible therapeutic use of TSN in osteoporosis in the future.